History, on a personal level

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

As you may have heard the Pacific Battleship Center has been working exhaustively to acquire the USS Iowa. The IOWA will be berthed in San Pedro and will serve as a Museum,Veteran's Memorial, Community Center and Educational Facility. The PBC is dediated to seeing that the ship serves the entire community of Southern California.

It is with pride that the PBC will restore and present this historic battleship that carried President Roosevelt to the Tehran Convention during World War 2. It is a most joyous achievement that the Navy entrusts such an important piece of history to the Los Angeles community.

We're not done yet! We need YOU! As the proposed date of reception draw's nearer we still need a show of hands from local citizens in support of The Pacific Battleship Center and The USS IOWA.

The IOWA will be a "living" ship hosting numerous exhibits, events,youth outreach programs,summer and day camps and even free monthly health and dental clinics. It will also serve as a disaster response center making the IOWA far more than just a museum but an all encompassing civic center

If you are a veteran, a history buff, a parent, a teacher, or feel that you could benefit from any of the number of programs that the IOWA will offer please visit the website to voice your support http://www.pacificbattleship.com/support_letters/index.html follow this link to draft a support letter that can be printed from your computer to be sent to L.A. Board of Harbor Commissioners' Board President Cindy Miscikowski and Mayor Villaraigosa.

These letter's will be used to boost the already overwhelming response to the project at the Oct 7th meeting of The Los Angeles Board of Harbor Commissioners. The public is highly welcomed and encouraged to attend. The meeting will be held at The Port of L.A. Administration Building located at 425 S. Palos Verdes Street. San Pedro, California 90731 and begins at 8:30 A.M.

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

MCAS El Toro was the center for Marine Corps. air operations on the west coast for almost 60 years. Today it's undergoing a transformation, becoming a "Great Park". With the removal of buildings, runways, and other major features there is a plan to to preserve and honor her history. PAC/AMCMS, better known as the Great Park Museum of Heritage and Aviation is the team in charge of this task. I am proud to be involved with this project even only as a volunteer. Late last year we were tasked with hosting an airshow as part of the Great Park's fifth anniversary celebration. El Toro is famous for it's airshows. During it's heyday The El Toro airshow could draw as many as 1 million spectators in a 3 day period and that is only the people who made it into the gate. Tom O'Hara, With the help of John Collver and the Museum team were able to pull off quite an event this year. over 20,000 people attended!!! The best part of this event was the ability to introduce alot of people to aviation history that might not seek it out on their own.

see more here http://s22.photobucket.com/albums/b324/ironfly28/airshow/?start=0

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Here are the boys dug into the hill at Old Fort MacArthur days July 10-11 2010.

Better known to us as March of 1944. Holding a defensive gun emplacement at Bouganville. The 3rd Marine Defense Battalion (Tim Siegert, Anthony Ardisone, Iggy Sorrenseene,Kelly Merrill) and other Marine and Navy personell have been holed up here for over a week. The crew has been thwarting the attempts of Japanese carrier based aircraft to regain control of the beachhead.

Air raid sirens were sounded throughout Los Angeles County on the night of 24 - 25 February 1942. A total blackout was ordered and thousands of air raid wardens were summoned to their positions. At 3:16 a.m. the 37th Coast Artillery Brigade began firing 12.8-pound anti-aircraft shells into the air at reported aircraft; over 1,400 shells would eventually be fired. Pilots of the 4th Interceptor Command were alerted but their aircraft remained grounded. The artillery fire continued sporadically until 4:14 a.m. The "all clear" was sounded and the blackout order lifted at 7:21 a.m. (from Wikipedia.)

An important part of Los Angeles history the "Great Los Angeles Air Raid" seen above is a testament to the nervousness Americans felt going into World War 2. Today The event is a reason to celebrate. On the Weekend Nearest the anniversary date Angelenos get all dressed up just like it was 1942 And Head to Fort MacArthur, a gun emplacement On the Coast of San Pedro that lit up the sky during the 1942 "Raid" . The event begins at noon and continues through the day with Military exhibits,reenactments, and a live band playing the top 40 hits leading up to February 1942.

After night fall the Air Raid sirens are sounded and attendees look for cover as once again the searchlights comb the sky. when the "Target" is spotted the guns come to life firing blanks and fireworks at the imaginary enemy.

This year CDHA enlisted the help of Johnn Collver's Marine Corps. SNJ-5 to add a new dimension to the festivities. It was a huge success adding the aerial element.

Have a look at the photos and check out the website.www.theairraid.com

We are a group of men and women who believe that our heritage forms a pathway to best walk through our futures. Through research and eyewitness accounts we strive to create accurate depictions of life in any given moment in our history.

Our focus is on the era of the Great Depression, World War 2, and through the early 1950s. The equipment and experience we've acquired allows us to do many events, educational programs, Movies and TV shows.

Southern California has a rich industrial and military history. Many of these sites become endangered due to development,low interest, or lack of knowledge. Our goal is to work with others that are interested in historic preservation to save these sites and make them fun,educational, and lucritive community assets. By networking and fundraising we believe that these sites can be saved for future generations to enjoy.